Sport

Chris Arnone: An ice time at Hawks proved girls just want to have fun

WELL, Thursday was a first at training – all of us on the ice dressed as women.

There were some sights! And I think we all have a new found respect for the opposite sex given that it cost me £14 for some lipstick and foundation that I nipped up to Asda for beforehand. Not to mention the rigmarole of applying it all and then taking it off afterwards.

It was my idea to do something different in response to the make-up free selfies that had raised millions for Cancer Research UK – Hawks’ chosen charity for this year.

We have a target of £1,000 and hopefully our stunt will have helped push us nearer to that four-figure total.

We have a pink t-shirt that people have donated to have the names of loved ones they have lost to cancer printed on it, and one of us wears it in the warm-up before every game.

It goes to the whoever has lost the penalty shoot-out in training that week, which quite often has been me.

But I just thought this idea would be different, and it certainly was!

Some of the lads weren’t up for it at first but they soon all got into the spirit. It was the best laugh we’d had in the dressing room for a while when we were all getting ‘dolled up’, and although it was very cold when we got out onto the ice, I think everyone secretly enjoyed it.

Some took it to greater extremes than others, Rick Ravey went to Topshop to get a dress, Jared Owen bought a flowery top and Jake Nurse wore a wig!

But once we'd had the photos taken we changed for training. We had to get serious at some point.

The play-offs aren’t far away and we need to prepare well.

It isn’t ideal having such a big gap between the end of the season and the play-offs because, while it can be beneficial to help any injuries or niggles recover, you risk losing momentum.